1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to ostomy and colostomy bag clips which are removable and that form seals on openings in a colostomy bag and specifically, to a safety latch for the ostomy bag closure clip to prevent accidental disengagement of the clip from the bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Colostomy and ostomy bags are used with patients to allow for disposal of bodily waste which collects in the ostomy bag. The bag typically has a lower opening end which has traditionally been sealed by a clip. When the bag is to be emptied, the clip is manually removed, allowing the bag contents to be disposed of.
Because of the physical demands on such clips to only be released when required, it is imperative that the clip remain firmly in place, regardless of the movements of the user, at all times, until manually disengaged by the user.
The prior art shows a plethora of plastic clips, typically having two or more arms or branches hinged together by a unitary plastic connection. Typically, the devices are hinged in a flexible manner which allows them to be bent and joined together with a protuberance that overrides a projecting surface for locking the clip in place. U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,133, issued Jun. 30, 1992 to Morrison, shows an ostomy pouch clamp with a hinge supplementing guide blade which allows for the pouch opening to be sealed by the guide blade action and which allows the clamp to be resiliently locked in place. U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,534, issued Aug. 11, 1970 to Nolan, shows a closure for a drainage pouch. U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,489, issued Jan. 10, 1995 to Delk et al., shows a bag closure clamp with a hinge supplementing complementary cam surface. This also provides for a resiliently disengageable latch or lock to keep the hinge engaged except when the locking pin is pressed physically and flexed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,335, issued Dec. 19, 1989 to Folkmur, shows a closure which is a plastic clamp or clip for closing plastic bags and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,871, issued Jul. 4, 1995 to Iosif, shows a clamp for elastomeric bags which has a locking pin that engages a resilient opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,172, issued Jan. 8, 1991 to Steer et al., shows a clip for a drainable ostomy pouch. As described herein, ostomy pouch and colostomy bag are used interchangeably. The clip for a drainable ostomy pouch in Steer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,172 shows a single, unitary clip made of a plastic that can be bent with a pair of branches engaged together by a resilient catch. The drawback for the clip shown in Steer et al. is that it can be accidentally opened by certain movements of the user. Such accidental opening obviously can be extremely embarrassing for the user. While the clip itself functions adequately and does maintain a seal of the bag's lower opening when engaged, accidental disengagement is unacceptable.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a safety latch or safety lock for a clip, such as that shown in Steer et al., to absolutely prevent any type of accidental disengagement of the clip arms, while still making the deliberate disengagement of the clip relatively simple manually in order to empty the bag. With the safety latch in place, it is physically impossible for the clip to become accidentally disengaged. The safety latch, in accordance with the present invention, is non-complex in design and economical in the overall manufacture.
Present day ostomy and colostomy bag clips are sadly deficient in their holding power. Because these clips are unitarily formed often of plastic or plastic-like materials with a flexible hinge connecting the clip arms most clips have one or more protrusions which act to fit into a slot plastic to plastic that is manually overridden when the clip is disengaged. Clip separation and accidental release and opening of the clips is quite a common event. Users of the ostomy and colostomy bags often have to empty the bags several times a day increasing the probability of accidental disengagement. Most often, however, the problem is that the catch integrally formed in the conventional clip does not have the type of holding power necessary to insure and guarantee a secure lock. This is because if it was made that tight it would be impossible manually to override the catch. The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a foolproof safety latch that cannot come apart accidentally.